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James Hutchinson

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The frost is yet to make an appearance here at the Links so the mushrooms are still plentiful in numbers and variety.

20 varieties of fungi

The frost is yet to make an appearance here at the Links (famous last words) so the mushrooms are still plentiful in numbers and variety. With help from friend of the Links, Dr May Richardson we found upwards of 20 varieties last week including:

A big thanks to Dr Richardson and we look forward to our next fungi forage.

Elsewhere on the Links, the bird sightings have been coming thick and fast. The 9th tee of the New Course is an amazing place to see waders! Along with the estuary’s resident feathers there have been some new sightings to accompany them throughout the colder winter months. This past fortnight has shown us seven light bellied brent geese, two greenshank, four ringed plovers and numerous geese and swans. The estuary has about 50 – 60 light bellied brents this time of year but apparently we need to keep an eye out for the dark bellied variety which are far more elusive.

Along with these sightings the resident kestrel is becoming more and more observable and can be seen most days hovering above patches of long grasses.

If you are passing the Eden Clubhouse then keep a look out for this cheeky visitor. The snap was sent in by our Reservation team who often offer nibbles to these obliging beauties. Rooks (which are protected species) are intelligent and will become friendly, especially where rich tea biscuits are concerned!

The heather harvesting season is almost complete so we had a final push to collect as many seeds as possible on Monday. As per usual, the team worked their socks off and produced buckets full of seed which should last us for some time. The seeds will be incorporated into the more out-of-play areas of the Links in the hope of attracting Britain’s declining native bees. As a result, this will increase the habitat for ground nesting birds such as the skylark and the grey partridge. Here’s the team: